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Government, Politics, and Reform

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln are all represented in the Museum's collections—by a surveying compass, a lap desk, and a top hat, among other artifacts. But the roughly 100,000 objects in this collection reach beyond the possessions of statesmen to touch the broader political life of the nation—in election campaigns, the women's suffrage movement, labor activity, civil rights, and many other areas. Campaign objects make up much of the collection, including posters, novelties, ballots, voting machines, and many others. A second group includes general political history artifacts, such as first ladies' clothing and accessories, diplomatic materials, ceremonial objects, national symbols, and paintings and sculptures of political figures. The third main area focuses on artifacts related to political reform movements, from labor unions to antiwar groups.

During the gas shortages of the 1970s, American motorists were encouraged to reduce highway speed in order to cut fuel consumption and automobile emissions. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency issued this red, white, and blue bumper sticker in the shape of a flag during the 1976 Bicentennial to promote patriotism and support for this unpopular idea.

The Johnny Horizon Program was established by the U.S. Department of the Interior in the early 1970s to increase environmental awareness and encourage people to work together to improve and protect the environment. “Johnny Horizon” was a symbolic figure of a concerned citizen who wanted to help keep America clean as it approached its 200th birthday in 1976.

The program distributed environmental education newsletters, booklets, stickers, and other material throughout the country. This “Johnny Horizon” red, white, and blue life-size cowboy hat was offered to children so they could show their support for a safe and healthy future for America.

The grassroots environmental movements that sprang up in America in the 1960s and early 1970s gave rise to new organizations and campaigns urging the conservation of natural resources. The A&P Grocery chain used this paper shopping bag promoting energy conservation in the mid-1970s demonstrating that even corporate America responded to the call for increased environmental awareness.

This 1979 tractor was owned by Gerald McCathern of Hereford, Tex., who used it in his fields for 700 hours before driving it 1,800 miles to Washington, D.C., to participate in the 1979 American Agriculture Movement demonstration. As wagon master, McCathern coordinated tractorcades that, while bringing the desperate situation facing American farmers to the attention of Congress, also substantially slowed rush-hour traffic. In the midst of the protest, a large snowstorm nearly paralyzed the city, and farmers used their tractors to pull cars out of snowbanks, earning the goodwill of many people.

The American Agriculture Movement bought the tractor and presented it to the Smithsonian in 1986. The IH 1486 is representative of the technology that typifies modern agriculture. It has sixteen forward and eight reverse speeds, power steering and brakes, diesel turbocharged engine, wide adjustable front end, detachable front weights, air-conditioning, AM-FM radio tape deck, hydraulic adjustable seat, and an adjustable steering wheel.

In order to make their views known, candidates for political office often distribute material focusing on current issues facing the country. During the 1972 Presidential campaign, this ecology coloring book was distributed as a public service by the “McGovern For President” campaign to demonstrate George McGovern’s interest and concern for the environment and for preservation of the country’s natural resources.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, as Americans became more aware of the need to protect the environment, political organizations and campaigns arose to combat pollution and the waste of our country’s natural resources. The League of Conservation Voters, established in 1969 to raise public awareness, began to publish an annual list of congressional legislators who consistently voted against clean energy and conservation.

This 1974 poster distributed by Environmental Action depicts 12 members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, who were accused of voting on the side of commercial interests over environmental concerns. Their faces are superimposed on a picture of an early 20th-century “sports team” wearing the letter “D” (Dirty Dozen) on their sweaters.

This test rig was used to analyze the ventricles made for the Atomic Energy Artificial Heart. An artificial heart driven by atomic energy was financed by the Atomic Energy Commission, and by Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA). In 1977 the ERDA became the United States Department of Energy, which lost interest in the development of a nuclear heart. The engine was made by North America/Phillips while the silastic ventricles were made in Kolff's laboratory. Kolff replaced the Sterling engine with a small electromotor on the pump and obtained survival of a calf for 35 days with this artificial heart.